Online Reporter
Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent
I AM open to learning because it is very important. I also know for certain that there are still many things that I do not know, and that I may never get to know as long as I live.
What we know is just the tip of the iceberg. I always joke with the young people whom I interact with that most of them will never know what we went through when we used towelling nappies for our babies.
They will never know what it meant to have snowy white nappies. It was not by a stroke of luck, but a lot of hard work.
As one became a mother, they had to learn which washing soap was best for nappies. There were many soaps available on the market, but some were not nappy friendly!
These soaps were good at other things, but were not compatible with the nappy work. Just as there are different brands of diapers on the market now, back then there were different brands of towelling nappies.
There were some that were thin, easy to wash and did not take long to dry. Then there were some that were thick (and even extra thick), difficult to wash and took almost forever to dry.
During that era, some companies made money as they manufactured buckets with lids specifically for the nappy duty.
Let me put it in a few words, it was no walk in the park. The work did not end, it evolved till the baby was no longer wearing the nappies.
This nappy work may have contributed to some trauma and mental health issues that women (and even men) from my generation, and the ones before now, carry with them. After my nappy duties, I took myself off white things, I simply opted for dark colours more in my life.
I have looked at my wardrobe and bed linen lately and realised that the whites are there in significant numbers, so maybe I am healing, or I have healed? Or is it just coincidence?
The nappy talk began during antenatal clinic. There were health talks around proper nappy care. We were taught how to properly fold the nappy. There were many variations. After learning how to fold the nappy, we were taught how to pin the nappy.
Initially large safety pins were used. Some companies have since gone out of business because those big safety pins are no longer in use. Some companies made money by making “branded” safety pins with animated heads!
The things that earn a profit are diverse, it is about identifying a gap, and then working to meet demand! The pins were sharp and we were taught how to put one’s finger underneath the nappy so that if someone was to get a prick, it was never the baby. I pricked myself and the babies several times, and there screams as part of the nappy duty. The next innovation was the plastic nappy clip.
Now I assisted with nappy duty as an adolescent, cousins and other relatives and even my youngest sister, but when I had my own babies, I was the main player. While I had a very supportive partner who assisted with the nappy change, that was just how far he went, he was prepared to assist to hang the nappies on the washing line, but not washing them! The part that he played was appreciated and never taken for granted.
After nappy change, the soiled napkin was put in the bucket. When it was time to wash them, let me share what I did, there are probably variations.
Starting with the nappies with urine only, a lot of rinsing in cold water and then put in a bucket. Moving on to the soiled ones . This was the next level. Remove the “number two” and then rinse the nappies. Apply washing soap on each nappy and lay in the bucket, when all napkins are “soap stained”, pour boiling water over them and close the bucket.
I would do this at night so that the napkins would literary “cook” over night! In the morning (early morning), wash and rub them at times, there would be a stubborn stain that would require extra power and the hands would feel it.
I had bruised hands, hands that got extra sensitive at times after washing in very hot water because there were rain fears and the soaking time was limited. It was always a marvel to watch snowy white nappies wafting in the wind on the laundry line. It gave me some satisfaction.
I am not a better mother because I washed napkins that took a long time to accomplish. The mothers who used or use diapers are not lesser mothers because their hands did not become sensitive or burnt as they washed heavily soiled towelling napkins.
Given a choice, I would have readily accepted diapers! I used towelling napkins because back then it was what we had. We should be thankful for progress. When I had access to a plastic band to pin my napkins, I used that, and it did not make me a less mother because I did not get pricked.
At times as women we tend to think that pain defines womanhood, no! I was saddened by a discussion when a woman my age shared that mothers these days have it easy in terms of the baby’s laundry because they use diapers, which she termed an unnecessary expense!
It is important for women to embrace things that lessen their work burden wherever possible. Even when one has a period pain, it is fine to take a painkiller rather than just say as a woman, pain and burdens are key parts because they are not.
How come we board commuter omnibuses when we used to walk the same distance, and yet we still want aspects of women’s lives to remain in the nappy soaking era?
#Heroes Month
